Novel, Highly Potent Aldose Reductase Inhibitors: (R) - American

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Novel, Highly Potent Aldose Reductase Inhibitors: (R)-(-)-2-(4-Bromo-2-fluorobenzyl)-1,2,3,4-tetrahydropyrrolo[1,2-a]pyrazine4-spiro-3′-pyrrolidine-1,2′,3,5′-tetrone (AS-3201) and Its Congeners Toshiyuki Negoro,* Makoto Murata, Shozo Ueda, Buichi Fujitani, Yoshiyuki Ono, Akemi Kuromiya, Masanobu Komiya, Kenji Suzuki, and Jun-ichi Matsumoto Department of Chemistry I, Discovery Research Laboratories I, Dainippon Pharmaceutical Company, Ltd., Enoki 33-94, Suita/Osaka 564-0053, Japan Received May 11, 1998

A series of novel tetrahydropyrrolo[1,2-a]pyrazine derivatives were synthesized and evaluated as aldose reductase inhibitors (ARIs) on the basis of their abilities to inhibit porcine lens aldose reductase (AR) in vitro and to inhibit sorbitol accumulation in the sciatic nerve of streptozotocininduced diabetic rats in vivo. Of these compounds, spirosuccinimide-fused tetrahydropyrrolo[1,2-a]pyrazine-1,3-dione derivatives showed significantly potent AR inhibitory activity. In the in vivo activity of these derivatives, 2-(4-bromo-2-fluorobenzyl)-1,2,3,4-tetrahydropyrrolo[1,2-a]pyrazine-4-spiro-3′-pyrrolidine-1,2′,3,5′-tetrone (23t) (SX-3030) showed the best oral activity. The enantiomers of 23t were synthesized, and the biological activities were evaluated. It was found that AR inhibitory activity resides in the (-)-enantiomer 43 (AS-3201), which was 10 times more potent in inhibition of the AR (IC50 ) 1.5 × 10-8 M) and 500 times more potent in the in vivo activity (ED50 ) 0.18 mg/kg/day for 5 days) than the corresponding (+)enantiomer 44 (SX-3202). From these results, AS-3201 was selected as the candidate for clinical development. The absolute configuration of AS-3201 was also established to be (R)-form by single-crystal X-ray analysis. In this article we report the preparation and structure-activity relationship (SAR) of tetrahydropyrrolopyrazine derivatives including a novel ARI, AS-3201. Introduction

Chart 1

Currently, a number of structurally diverse compounds possessing aldose reductase (AR) inhibitory activities have been synthesized as potential drugs for the treatment of diabetic complications such as cataract formation, retinopathy, neuropathy, and nephropathy. Most of these compounds contain acetic acid moieties or five-membered ring cyclic imides (hydantoin and succinimide), having an acidic proton1 that appears to be necessary for the inhibition of AR (Chart 1). This is substantiated by the structures of tolrestat,2 epalrestat,3 and several inhibitors4-8 which have been presently undergoing clinical trials. Thus, we focused our attention on molecules containing N-acylglycine moieties and planned to synthesize a series of heterocyclic compounds with those moieties. In the course of synthesizing new compounds as aldose reductase inhibitors (ARIs), we unexpectedly found that 2-methyltetrahydropyrrolo[1,2-a]pyrazine1,4-dione (3) had attractive biological activity. Although this compound possessed no acidic proton, in contrast to the above-mentioned ARIs, it showed not only AR inhibitory in vitro activity (IC50 ) 7.5 × 10-6 M) but also in vivo activity (ED50 ) 68.4 mg/kg). We also found that the pyrrolopyrazine 3 is more potent in vivo than the ring-opened compounds 2 and 4 (Table 1). These interesting observations suggested that the pyrrolopyrazine 3 possessed good oral absorption and efficient tissue penetration properties, and this furthered our interests to the unique structure of the tetrahydropyrrolo[1,2-a]pyrazine-1,4-dione ring system. However, compound 3 was unstable because of easy cleavage of

the C-N bond between the 4- and 5-positions on the pyrazine ring under aqueous basic conditions. In an attempt to overcome this problem, we designed a novel and more stable tetrahydropyrrolo[1,2-a]pyrazine-1,3-

S0022-2623(98)00296-9 CCC: $15.00 © 1998 American Chemical Society Published on Web 09/12/1998

Novel, Highly Potent ARIs

Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 1998, Vol. 41, No. 21 4119

Scheme 1a

amine to give pyrrolopyrazine-4-carboxylate 14, 15, or 16. Compound 15 or 16 was then hydrolyzed by 20% hydrochloric acid to give the desired tetrahydropyrrolo[1,2-a]pyrazine-4-carboxylic acid 17 or 18, respectively. Under the same conditions compound 14 underwent hydrolysis followed by decarboxylation. The spirosuccinimide-fused tetrahydropyrrolo[1,2-a]pyrazine-1,3-dione derivatives 22 and 23 were prepared according to two methods, A and B, shown in Scheme 3. In method A, pyrrolopyrazine-4-carboxylate (14) was alkylated with tert-butyl bromoacetate to give tert-butyl pyrrolopyrazineacetate 19, which was deprotected with trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) to give acetic acid 20. Treatment of 20 with thionyl chloride and subsequent reaction with a large excess of aqueous ammonium hydroxide gave acetamide 21. Ring closure of 21 was accomplished by treatment with sodium hydride to give the final products 22 and 23. In method B, the intermediate 27 was prepared from compound 8. Alkylation of 8 with benzyl bromoacetate and subsequent deprotection by hydrogenolysis gave acetic acid 25. Condensation of 25 with N-hydroxysuccinimide in the presence of 1-ethyl-3-(3-(dimethylamino)propyl)carbodiimide hydrochloride (WSC), followed by treatment of 7.8% ammonia acetonitrile solution, gave acetamide 26. Cyclization of 26 with a catalytic amount of potassium carbonate smoothly proceeded to give succinimide 27 quantitatively. Conversion of 27 to the final products 22 and 23 was accomplished using the conditions described in the preparation of 14 from 8 shown in Scheme 2. Most of compounds 23 shown in Table 4 were prepared from the intermediate 28 using this method. Compounds 31, which have substituents on the pyrrole ring of 23t, were prepared by two synthetic routes, A and B, shown in Scheme 4. In route A, halogenation12 or acetylation13 of 28 gave 4-halogenated or 4-acetylated trichloroacetylpyrroles 30a-c, which were then condensed with 4-bromo-2-fluorobenzylamine in the presence of triethylamine to give the desired products 31ac. Direct bromination of 23t in the presence of aluminum chloride shown in route B gave a mixture of 6-bromo (31e) and 6,7-dibromo (31f) derivatives. But chlorination of 23t with sulfuryl chloride only gave 6-chloro derivative 31d. Preparation of Enantiomers of SX-3030 (AS-3201 and SX-3202). The enantiomers of 23t (SX-3030), 2-(4bromo-2-fluorobenzyl)-1,2,3,4-tetrahydropyrrolo[1,2-a]pyrazine-4-spiro-3′-pyrrolidine-1,2′,3,5′-tetrone, were prepared according to the method shown in Scheme 5. Alkylation of ethyl [(benzyloxycarbonyl)amino]cyanoacetate14 (32) with ethyl bromoacetate, followed by hydrolysis using hydrogen peroxide-sodium carbonate,15 brought about ring closure to give succinimide 34. Treatment of 34 with cinchonidine gave a cinchonidium salt, which was twice recrystallized from ethanol to give the diastereomerically enriched cinchonidium salt (>99.9% de). This salt was then treated with hydrochloric acid to liberate the (-)-enantiomer 35 (>99.5% ee). On the other hand, recrystallization of the residue which was obtained from the acidified mother liquors gave the pure (+)-enantiomer 36 (>99.4% ee). Each enantiomer (35 or 36) was then deprotected by hydrogenolysis with palladium carbon, followed by treatment with 2,5-dimethoxytetrahydrofuran, to give pyrrole

a Reagents: (a) WSC, Et N/CH Cl ; (b) Et N/toluene; (c) 5% 3 2 2 3 NaHCO3-dioxane, WSC, 1-ethyl-3-(3-(dimethylamino)propyl)carbodiimide hydrochloride.

Scheme 2a

a Reagents: (a) 2,5-dimethoxy-THF/AcOH; (b) CCl COCl/CHCl ; 3 3 (c) R1-NH2, Et3N/dry DMF; (d) 20% HCl aq/dioxane.

dione ring system and prepared many compounds having an acidic moiety to find more potent compounds than existing ARIs, such as ponalrestat9 and tolrestat.2 Chemistry The pyrrole derivatives were prepared according to the method shown in Scheme 1. Condensation of 2-pyrrolecarboxylic acid (1) with sarcosine methyl ester in the presence of triethylamine gave a mixture of N-methyl-N-(2-pyrrolylcarbonyl)glycine methyl ester (2) and 2-methyltetrahydropyrrolo[1,2-a]pyrazine-1,4-dione (3). Ester 2 was easily cyclized to pyrrolopyrazine 3 under basic conditions. Ester 2 and pyrrolopyrazine 3 were easily hydrolyzed in an aqueous sodium bicarbonate solution to give N-(2-pyrrolylcarbonyl)glycine (4). The 1,3-dioxotetrahydropyrrolo[1,2-a]pyrazine-4-carboxylic acid derivatives 17 and 18 were prepared according to the method shown in Scheme 2. Condensation of the appropriate amino acid diester 5, 6, or 7 with 2,5-dimethoxytetrahydrofuran,10 followed by treatment with an excess of trichloroacetyl chloride, gave 2-trichloroacetylpyrrole11 11, 12, or 13. These intermediates were subjected to ring closure by condensation with the required amine in the presence of triethyl-

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Scheme 3a

a Reagents: (a) (1) NaH, (2) BrCH COO-But/dry DMF; (b) trifluoroacetic acid/CH Cl ; (c) (1) SOCl /CH Cl , (2) 25% aq NH /AcOEt; (d) 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 NaH/dry DMF; (e) BrCH2COOBn, K2CO3/Me2CO or BrCH2COOBn, NaH/dry DMF; (f) H2, Pd-C/dioxane; (g) (1) N-hydroxysuccinimide, 1 WSC/dry CH2Cl2, (2) 7% NH3/CH3CN; (h) K2CO3/Me2CO; (i) CCl3COCl/CHCl3; (j) R -NH2, Et3N/DMF.

Scheme 4a

a

Reagents: (a) Br2 or SO2Cl2 or AcCl, AlCl3/CHCl3; (b) 4-Br-2F-Ph-CH2NH2, Et3N/DMF; (c) Br2, AlCl3 or SO2Cl2/CHCl3.

derivative (39 or 40), respectively. Conversion of 39 or 40 to the final product 43 (>99.4% ee) or 44 (>99.4% ee), respectively, was accomplished in the same manner as described in the preparation of 23 from 27 shown in Scheme 3 (method B). The optical purity of each enantiomer (35, 36, 43, or 44) was determined by HPLC analysis on a chiral column (conditions described in Experimental Section). The absolute configuration of the (-)-enantiomer 43 (AS-3201) was established to be (R)-form by single-crystal X-ray analysis (Figure 1). Pharmacological Results and Discussion The AR inhibitory activity of the synthesized compounds was assessed by measuring the inhibition of enzymatic activity in a partially purified porcine lens

preparation.16 The inhibitory activity was expressed as the concentration (µM) of the test compound which inhibited the activity of AR by 50% (IC50). The test compounds were also evaluated in vivo by measuring their ability to inhibit sorbitol accumulation in the sciatic nerve of streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats.17 The ED50 value of test compounds represents the dose causing 50% decrease of the sorbitol accumulation. Results for pyrrole derivatives are shown in Table 1. Pyrrolopyrazine 3, which has no acidic moiety, showed almost the same potency as carboxylic acid 4 in the AR inhibitory activity (IC50 ) 7.5 × 10-6 M). Furthermore, pyrrolopyrazine 3 potently inhibited the sorbitol accumulation in the sciatic nerve of the diabetic rats (56% inhibition at 100 mg/kg). Its in vivo activity was 2-fold



Scheme 5a

100 mg/kg) was superior to that of carboxylic acid 4. This may be attributed to formation of pyrrolopyrazine 3 in consequence of cyclization of the ester 2. From these results, it appeared that pyrrolopyrazine 3 possessed good oral absorption and efficient tissue penetration. Results for compounds with a carboxylic acid moiety at the C-4 position of the tetrahydropyrrolo[1,2-a]pyrazine-1,3-dione ring are shown in Table 2. Acetic and propionic acid derivatives with either hydrogen or low alkyl substituents at the N-2 position of the pyrazine ring were inactive in the AR inhibition at 10-6 M, while these acetic acid derivatives produced weak inhibition of the sorbitol accumulation at 100 mg/kg in vivo (17a-c). Acetic and propionic acid derivatives with 3,4-dichloro or 4-bromo-2-fluorobenzyl groups at the N-2 position (17d,e and 18d), with the exception of 18e, gave potent AR inhibitory activity (IC50 ) 1.3-1.6 × 10-7 M). Of these compounds, only 18d produced weak inhibitory activity at a high dose of 100 mg/kg in vivo; however, these in vitro results were not satisfactorily reflected in the in vivo activities of the compounds. It may be attributed to poor oral absorption. On the basis of this experience, we attempted to shift our attention to other acidic moieties. Replacement of the carboxylic acid moieties by spirosuccinimide at the C-4 position of the pyrrolopyrazine ring resulted in significant improvement of the in vivo activity. Therefore, we focused our efforts on the spirosuccinimidefused tetrahydropyrrolopyrazine. To find beneficial substituents for the generation of optimal biological activity, compounds which have low alkyl, phenyl, benzyl, or phenethyl substituents at the N-2 position of the spirosuccinimide-fused pyrrolopyrazine ring were synthesized. As seen from Table 3, four of five compounds (22b-d and 23a) showed good AR inhibitory activity. The best in the in vitro activity was observed for 23a with a benzyl group (IC50 ) 9.9 × 10-8 M). Compounds with methyl and benzyl groups (22b and 23a) showed good in vivo activities (51% and 69% inhibition, respectively, at 30 mg/kg/day for 5 days). These results indicate that substituents at this position are important to produce inhibitors having good biological potency, particularly in vivo activity. Thus, compounds with a variety of substituents on the benzyl group at the N-2 position of the pyrrolopyrazine were synthesized. These results are shown in Table 4. The AR inhibitory activities were significantly influenced by substituents on the benzyl group at the N-2 position of the pyrrolopyrazine. For instance, substitution by electron-withdrawing groups such as halogens produced more potent compounds than the parent 23a, except for 23c, in both the AR inhibition and in vivo activities. In particular, the monosubstituted 4-bromobenzyl derivative 23i and the disubstituted 3,4-dichloro, 4-chloro-2-fluoro- and 4-bromo-2fluorobenzyl derivatives 23r-t showed excellent in vivo potency (ED50 ) 0.3-0.7 mg/kg/day). Of these compounds, the best oral activity was observed for compound 23t (SX-3030) having 4-bromo-2-fluorobenzyl group (ED50 ) 0.3 mg/kg/day). On the other hand, substitution by electron-donating groups such as methoxy, methyl or amino group led to significant decrease in the in vivo activity (23j,k,n-p).

a Reagents: (a) BrCH COOEt, K CO /Me CO; (b) H O -Na CO / 2 2 3 2 2 2 2 3 H2O-Me2CO; (c) (1) cinchonidine/EtOH, (2) HCl; (d) H2, Pd-C/ EtOH; (e) 2,5-dimethoxy-THF/AcOH; (f) CCl3COCl/AcOEt; (g) 4-Br-2-F-Ph-CH2NH2, Et3N/dry DMF.

Figure 1. X-ray structure of AS-3201 (43).

better than that of carboxylic acid 4 (24% inhibition at 100 mg/kg). Ester 2 was inactive in the AR inhibition at 10-6 M, while its in vivo activity (38% inhibition at

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Table 1. Chemical and Biological Data of Pyrrole Derivatives aldose reductase inhibition in vitro

in vivo % inhibitionb 100 mg/kg 38.0 ( 5.8 55.7 ( 3.0 23.7 ( 4.2

compd

mp, °C

recryst solvent

formula

porcine lens AR IC50 (µM)a

2 3 4

96-98 153-154 191-193

AcOEt-hexane AcOEt-hexane CH3CN

C9H12N2O3 C8H10N2O2 C8H10N2O3

>10 7.5 5.0

a The concentration of test compounds required for 50% inhibition of AR. b Percent inhibition of sorbitol accumulation in the sciatic nerve of streptozotocin-induced diabetic rat. Test compounds were orally given at the single dose indicated. Values are mean ( SEM; mean of 4-6 rats.

Table 2. Chemical and Biological Data of (2-Substituted-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-1,3-dioxopyrrolo[1,2-a]pyrazin-4-yl)acetic Acids and -propionic Acids 17 and 18

aldose reductase inhibition

a

in vitro

in vivo % inhibitionb 100 mg/kg 12.5 ( 5.4 12.8 ( 3.6 12.9 ( 14.0 NS NS NS NS NS 17.2 ( 8.2 NS

compd

n

R1

mp, °C


17a 17b 17c 17d 17e 18a 18b 18c 18d 18e

1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2

H CH3 CH(CH3)2 3,4-Cl2-C6H3-CH2 2-F-4-Br-C6H3-CH2 H CH3 CH(CH3)2 3,4-Cl2-C6H3-CH2 2-F-4-Br-C6H3-CH2

232-233 209-211 141-143 213-215 179-181 143-145 140-142 120-122 146-148 143-145

>10 >10 >10 0.131 0.165 >10 >10 >10 0.132 0.803

See footnote a in Table 1. b See footnote b in Table 1. NS, no significant inhibition.

Table 3. Chemical and Biological Data of 2-Substituted-1,2,3,4-tetrahydropyrrolo[1,2-a]pyrazine-4-spiro-3′-pyrrolidine-1,2′,3,5′-tetrones 22 and 23

aldose reductase inhibition in vitro

in vivo % inhibitionb 30 mg/kg/day 33.2 ( 9.3 51.2 ( 3.5 27.2 ( 10.6 69.1 ( 5.1 15.3 ( 10.3

compd

R1

method

mp, °C


22a 22b 22c 23a 22d

H CH3 C6H5 C6H5-CH2C6H3-(CH2)2-

A A A A A

257-259 285-287 231-238 157-159 155-157

0.63 0.28 0.20 0.099 0.27

a See footnote a in Table 1. b Percent inhibition of sorbitol accumulation in the sciatic nerve of streptozotocin-induced diabetic rat. Test compounds were orally given once a day for 5 days at the indicated doses. Values are mean ( SEM; mean of 4-6 rats.

Compounds 31, which have halogens or an acetyl group on the fused pyrrole ring of the pyrrolopyrazine, were synthesized. Results for these compounds are shown in Table 5. Compared to 23t, halogens or acetyl substitution on the pyrrole ring retained the in vitro activity but yielded a loss of the in vivo activity at a dose of 1 mg/kg/day (31a-f). AR had been reported to have a high enantioselectivity for spirohydantoins18 and spirosuccinimides.7 To examine enantiomeric preference for AR, the enantiomers of 23t were prepared and evaluated for the AR

inhibitory activity and in vivo potency. From the results in Table 6, the inhibitory activity was found to reside in essentially one isomer, the (-)-enantiomer 43 (AS3201), which was 10 and 500 times more potent in vitro and in vivo, respectively, than the corresponding (+)enantiomer 44 (SX-3202). Moreover, (-)-enantiomer 43 (AS-3201) was about 2 times more potent than the racemate 23t (SX-3030) in both the AR inhibitory activity and in vivo activity. AS-3201 was compared with tolrestat and ponalrestat to evaluate its pharmacokinetics in AR inhibitory activ-



Table 4. Chemical and Biological Data of Compounds 23 with Substituents on the Benzyl Group

aldose reductase inhibition in vitro

in vivo

compd

R

method

mp, °C


23a 23b 23c 23d 23e 23f 23g 23h 23i 23j 23k 23l 23m 23n 23o 23p 23q 23r 23s 23t (SX-3030)

H 2-F 4-F 2-Cl 3-Cl 4-Cl 2-Br 3-Br 4-Br 4-CH3 4-OCH3 4-CF3 4-NO2 4-NH2 2,4-(OCH3)2 3,4-(OCH3)2 2,4-F2 3,4-Cl2 2-F,4-Cl 2-F,4-Br

A B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B A B A, B

157-159 172-175 189-190 156-158 161-163 195-198 226-229 152-153 165-167 154-158 184-185 182-183.5 213-215 207-208 172-174 191-193 221.5-223 221-223 196-199 192-193

0.099 0.061 0.120 0.037 0.035 0.038 0.052 0.037 0.047 0.052 0.046 0.080 0.110 0.140 0.350 0.110 0.072 0.023 0.041 0.045

% inhibitionb 30 mg/kg/day 69.1 ( 5.1 98.0 ( 0.8 58.8 ( 3.3 97.0 ( 2.1 99.4 ( 1.3 104.6 ( 1.2 82.6 ( 2.7 102.1 ( 0.5 108.1 ( 0.4 65.8 ( 4.4 46.7 ( 7.6 88.4 ( 2.7 102.2 ( 1.6 33.4 ( 3.3 NS NS 98.0 ( 1.0 111.8 ( 1.1 109.5 ( 0.9 114.6 ( 0.2

ED50c mg/kg/day 1.3 5.8 3.8 1.5 0.48

10.8

5.4 0.60 0.74 0.30

a See footnote a in Table 1. b See footnote b in Table 3. c The dose of test compounds required for 50% inhibition of sorbitol accumulation in the sciatic nerve of streptozotocin-induced diabetic rat. NS, no significant inhibition.

Table 5. Chemical and Biological Data of Compounds 31 with Substituents on the Pyrrole Ring

aldose reductase inhibition

a

in vitro

in vivo % inhibitionb 1 mg/kg/day 23.0 ( 7.3 28.8 ( 9.5 26.6 ( 7.6 20.2 ( 6.3 NS NS 104.7 ( 2.2

compd

R6

R7

route

mp, °C


31a 31b 31c 31d 31e 31f 23t (SX-3030)

H H H Cl Br Br H

Cl Br CH3CO H H Br H

A A A B B B

227-229 112-114 289-291 207-209 212-214 253-254 192-193

0.050 0.10 0.21 0.035 0.040 0.052 0.045

See footnote a in Table 1. b See footnote b in Table 3. NS, no significant inhibition.

ity and in vivo. AS-3201 inhibited porcine lens AR with an IC50 value of 15 nM. Its inhibitory potency was comparable to those of tolrestat (IC50 ) 15 nM) and ponalrestat (IC50 ) 21 nM). When AS-3201, ponalrestat, or tolrestat was given orally to the diabetic rats once a day for 5 days, AS-3201 inhibited sorbitol accumulation in the sciatic nerve of the diabetic rats with an ED50 value of 0.18 mg/kg/day. These results suggest that AS-3201 has higher membrane permeability to inhibit potently intracellular AR in target tissues in vivo in comparison with these AR inhibitors.

Table 6. Biological Data of Tolrestat, Ponalrestat, Racemate 23t, and Its Enantiomers 43 and 44 aldose reductase inhibition

compd

enantiomer

23t (SX-3030) 44 (SX-3202) 43 (AS-3201) ponalrestat tolrestat

racemate (S)-(+) (R)-(-)

a

in vitro

in vivo


ED50b mg/kg/day

0.029 0.19 0.015 0.021 0.015

0.30 >100 0.18 11.0 26.7

See footnote a in Table 1. b See footnote c in Table 4.

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In conclusion, we have reported in this article a novel class of spirosuccinimide-fused tetrahydropyrrolo[1,2a]pyrazine-1,3-dione derivatives having a high order of intrinsic biological activity to inhibit AR. Of those compounds, AS-3201 potently inhibited sorbitol accumulation in the sciatic nerve of the diabetic rats at low oral doses, and its activity was more potent than that of tolrestat or ponalrestat. AS-3201, which has highly potent in vivo activity, is being evaluated for its clinical efficacy in the prevention of diabetic complications.

ester (2; 1.2 g, 6.1 mmol) in dioxane (15 mL) was added 5% aqueous NaHCO3 (15.4 mL), and the mixture was refluxed for 1 h. After cooling to room temperature, the reaction mixture was poured into ice-water containing concentrated HCl (1 mL) and extracted with AcOEt. The extracts were washed with brine and dried over anhydrous MgSO4. Evaporation and recrystallization from CH3CN gave a white solid (0.8 g, 72.7%): mp 191-3 °C; 1H NMR (DMSO-d6) δ 3.24 (3H, br s), 4.17 (2H, br s), 6.14 (1H, m), 6.60 (1H, br s), 6.90 (1H, m), 11.45 (1H, br s), 12.72 (1H, br s); IR (KBr, cm-1) 3270 (NH), 1740 (CO), 1707 (CO); MS m/z 183 (MH+). Anal. (C8H10N2O3) C, H, N. N-Methyl-N-(2-pyrrolylcarbonyl)glycine (4, from 3). To a stirred solution of 1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-2-methylpyrrolo[1,2a]pyrazine-1,4-dione (3; 1.0 g, 6.1 mmol) in dioxane (20 mL) was added 5% aqueous NaHCO3 (15.4 mL), and the mixture was stirred at room temperature for 6.5 h. The reaction mixture was poured into ice-water containing concentrated HCl (1 mL), and the precipitated white solid was collected by filtration. The solid was recrystallized from CH3CN to give a white solid (0.8 g, 72.7%): mp 191-3 °C; 1H NMR, IR, and MS were identical to the compound 4 described above. 2-(Pyrrol-1-yl)succinic Acid Dimethyl Ester (9, n ) 1, R ) Me) (Scheme 2). A mixture of dl-aspartic acid dimethyl ester hydrochloride (6; n ) 1, R ) Me; 19.2 g, 97.2 mmol), 2,5dimethoxytetrahydrofuran (12.9 g, 97.6 mmol), and triethylamine (10.3 g, 101.8 mmol) in acetic acid (60 mL) was refluxed for 5 h. The reaction mixture was evaporated in vacuo. The residue was dissolved in AcOEt and washed with 5% aqueous NaHCO3, water, and brine. The organic layer was dried over anhydrous MgSO4 and evaporated in vacuo. The resulting crude product was purified by column chromatography on silica gel with AcOEt-hexane (1/4) to give a viscous oil (16.6 g, 81.0%): 1H NMR (DMSO-d6) δ 3.59 (3H, s), 3.64 (3H, s), 5.26 (1H, t, J ) 7.3 Hz), 6.00 (2H, t, J ) 2.1 Hz), 6.82 (2H, t, J ) 2.1 Hz); IR (NaCl, cm-1) 1735 (CO), 1725 (CO); MS m/z 212 (MH+). 2-(2-(Trichloroacetyl)pyrrol-1-yl)succinic Acid Dimethyl Ester (12, n ) 1, R ) Me). A mixture of 2-(pyrrol1-yl)succinic acid dimethyl ester (9, n ) 1, R ) Me; 14.6 g, 69.1 mmol), trichloroacetyl chloride (25.1 g, 138.2 mmol), and CHCl3 (70 mL) was refluxed for 15 h. The reaction mixture was evaporated in vacuo. The residue was dissolved in AcOEt and washed with 10% aqueous NaHCO3, water, and brine. The organic layer was dried over anhydrous MgSO4 and evaporated in vacuo. The residue was recrystallized from AcOEt-hexane to give a white solid (21.6 g, 87.8%): mp 79-81 °C; 1H NMR (DMSO-d6) δ 3.57 (3H, s), 3.64 (3H, s), 6.01 (1H, br s), 6.39 (1H, dd, J ) 4.4, 2.6 Hz), 7.56 (1H, dd, J ) 4.4, 1.5 Hz), 7.61 (1H, t, J ) 2.1 Hz); IR (KBr, cm-1) 1745 (CO), 1730 (CO), 1650 (CO); MS m/z 356 (MH+). 2-(1,2,3,4-Tetrahydro-2-methyl-1,3-dioxopyrrolo[1,2-a]pyrazin-4-yl)acetic Acid Methyl Ester (15b, n ) 1, RdR1 ) Me). To an ice-cooled solution of methylamine hydrochloride (0.38 g, 5.9 mmol) and triethylamine (0.57 g, 5.6 mmol) in dry DMF (8 mL) was added 2-(2-(trichloroacetyl)pyrrol-1yl)succinic acid dimethyl ester (12, n ) 1, R ) Me; 1.0 g, 2.8 mmol), and the mixture was stirred at room temperature for 15 h. The reaction mixture was poured into ice-water containing concentrated HCl (1 mL) and extracted with AcOEt. The extracts were washed with brine and dried over anhydrous MgSO4. Evaporation and purification by column chromatography on silica gel with hexane-AcOEt (5/1) gave a white solid (0.41 g, 62.1%): mp 61-62 °C; 1H NMR (DMSO-d6) δ 3.14 (3H, s), 3.42 (2H, m), 3.49 (3H, s), 5.36 (1H, s), 6.34 (1H, s), 6.90 (1H, t, J ) 1.9), 7.36 (1H, s); IR (KBr, cm-1) 1740 (CO), 1710 (CO), 1660 (CO); MS m/z 237 (MH+). 2-(1,2,3,4-Tetrahydro-2-methyl-1,3-dioxopyrrolo[1,2-a]pyrazin-4-yl)acetic Acid (17b, n ) 1, R1 ) Me). To a stirred solution of 2-(1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-2-methyl-1,3-dioxopyrrolo[1,2a]pyrazin-4-yl)acetic acid methyl ester (15b, n ) 1, RdR1 ) Me; 0.7 g, 3.0 mmol) in dioxane (16 mL) was added 20% HCl (12.7 mL), and the mixture was refluxed for 4 h. The volatiles were removed in vacuo, water was added and the mixture was

Experimental Section Melting points (mp) were determined on a Yanagimoto micromelting apparatus and are uncorrected. Proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) spectra were obtained on a Varian Gemini-200 spectrometer with tetramethylsilane as an internal standard. Chemical shifts are reported in δ value from internal tetramethylsilane. Splitting patterns are designated as follows: s, singlet; d, doublet; dd, double doublet; t, triplet; q, quartet; br s, broad singlet; m, multiplet. Coupling constants are reported in hertz (Hz). Infrared (IR) spectra were recorded on a Shimazu FTIR-8200PC spectrophotometer. Mass spectra (MS) were obtained with a Hitachi M-1000 LC API mass spectrometer. Elemental analyses were carried out on a Perkin-Elmer 2400 elemental analyzer, and results obtained for specified elements were within (0.4% of the theoretical values. Optical rotations were determined on a Jasco DIP-370 model digital polarimeter (Japan Spectroscopic Co., Ltd.). Chromatographic separations were performed with silica gel 60 (Merck art. 7734; 70-230 mesh). Visualization was accomplished with UV light. Unless otherwise noted, all commercially available materials were used without further purification. Reference Compound. Tolrestat was extracted from commercially available Alredase capsules (Wyeth Laboratories Co., Ltd.). Ponalrestat was prepared according to known procedures.9 N-Methyl-N-(2-pyrrolylcarbonyl)glycine Methyl Ester (2) and 1,2,3,4-Tetrahydro-2-methylpyrrolo[1,2-a]pyrazine-1,4-dione (3) (Scheme 1). To a suspension of 2-pyrrolecarboxylic acid (1; 2.6 g, 23.4 mmol), sarcosine methyl ester hydrochloride (3.3 g, 23.6 mmol), and triethylamine (5.8 g, 57.3 mmol) in dry CH2Cl2 (50 mL) was added 1-ethyl-3-(3-(dimethylamino)propyl)carbodiimide hydrochloride (WSC; 5.4 g, 28.2 mmol), and the mixture was stirred at room temperature for 2 h. The reaction mixture was poured into water, acidified with HCl (10%), and then extracted with AcOEt. The extracts were washed with brine, dried over anhydrous MgSO4, and evaporated in vacuo. The resulting crude product was purified by column chromatography on silica gel. Elution with AcOEthexane (1/2) gave a less polar compound 2 (2.1 g, 45.7%), and elution with AcOEt-hexane (1/1) gave a more polar compound 3 (1.0 g, 26.3%). Less polar compound 2: mp 96-98 °C; 1H NMR (DMSO-d6) δ 3.25 (3H, br s), 3.67 (3H, s), 4.26 (2H, br s), 6.14 (1H, m), 6.60 (1H, br s), 6.91 (1H, m), 11.47 (1H, br s); IR (KBr, cm-1) 3130 (NH), 1735 (CO), 1595 (CO); MS m/z 197 (MH+). Anal. (C9H12N2O3) C, H, N. More polar compound 3: mp 153-154 °C; 1H NMR (DMSO-d6) δ 2.95 (3H, s), 4.51 (2H, s), 6.57 (1H, t, J ) 3.3 Hz), 6.95 (1H, dd, J ) 3.4, 1.6 Hz), 7.56 (1H, dd, J ) 3.2, 1.6 Hz); IR (KBr, cm-1) 1720 (CO), 1630 (CO); MS m/z 165 (MH+). Anal. (C8H8N2O2) C, H, N. 1,2,3,4-Tetrahydro-2-methylpyrrolo[1,2-a]pyrazine-1,4dione (3, from 2). A mixture of N-methyl-N-(2-pyrrolylcarbonyl)glycine methyl ester (2; 0.5 g, 2.5 mmol), triethylamine (1.3 g, 12.8 mmol), and toluene (5 mL) was refluxed for 5 h. The reaction mixture was evaporated in vacuo. The crude product was purified by recrystallization from CH3CN to give a white solid (0.34 g, 81.0%): mp 153-154 °C; 1H NMR, IR, and MS were identical to the more polar compound 3 described above. N-Methyl-N-(2-pyrrolylcarbonyl)glycine (4, from 2). To a solution of N-methyl-N-(2-pyrrolylcarbonyl)glycine methyl



extracted with AcOEt. The organic layer was washed with brine, dried over anhydrous MgSO4, and evaporated in vacuo. The resulting crude product was purified by recrystallization from CH3CN to give a white solid (0.46 g, 69.9%): mp 209211 °C; 1H NMR (DMSO-d6) δ 3.16 (3H, s), 3.35 (2H, dd, J ) 24, 18 Hz), 5.31 (1H, t, J ) 4.0 Hz), 6.36 (1H, dd, J ) 4.0, 2.6 Hz), 6.91 (1H, dd, J ) 4.0, 2.0 Hz), 7.36 (1H, dd, J ) 2.4, 2.0 Hz), 12.6 (1H, br s); IR (KBr, cm-1) 3110 (OH), 1725 (CO), 1705 (CO), 1635 (CO); MS m/z 223 (MH+). Anal. (C10H10N2O4) C, H, N. 3-(1,2,3,4-Tetrahydro-1,3-dioxo-2-isopropylpyrrolo[1,2a]pyrazin-4-yl)propionic Acid (18c, n ) 2, R1 ) iPr). The title compound was prepared from 3-(1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-1,3dioxo-2-isopropylpyrrolo[1,2-a]pyrazin-4-yl)propionic acid methyl ester (15c, n ) 2, R1 ) iPr; 1.5 g, 5.4 mmol) by the same manner as the compound 17b (n ) 1, R1 ) Me) described above. The resulting crude product was purified by recrystallization from AcOEt-hexane to give a white solid (0.8 g, 56.3%): mp 120-122 °C; 1H NMR (DMSO-d6) δ 1.38 (6H, dd, J ) 6.8, 2.6 Hz), 1.96 (2H, m), 2.32 (2H, m), 4.99 (1H, dd, J ) 14, 7.2 Hz), 5.22 (1H, t, J ) 5.0 Hz), 6.40 (1H, dd, J ) 8.0, 3.0 Hz), 6.93 (1H, dd, J ) 4.0, 1.6 Hz), 7.3 (1H, dd, J ) 2.6, 2.0 Hz), 12.2 (1H, br s); IR (KBr, cm-1) 1735 (CO), 1695 (CO), 1625 (CO); MS m/z 265 (MH+). Anal. (C13H16N2O4) C, H, N. 2-(2-(Trichloroacetyl)pyrrol-1-yl)malonic Acid Diethyl Ester (11, n ) 0, R ) Et) (Scheme 2). The title compound was prepared from 2-(pyrrol-1-yl)malonic acid diethyl ester10 (8, n ) 0, R ) Et; 80 g, 0.36 mol) by the same manner as compound 12 (n ) 1, R ) Me) described in Scheme 2. The resulting crude product was purified by recrystallization from AcOEt-hexane to give a white solid (116 g, 88.1%): mp 6769 °C; 1H NMR (CDCl3) δ 1.32 (6H, t, J ) 7.2 Hz), 4.32 (4H, m), 6.38 (1H, dd, J ) 4.4, 1.4 Hz), 6.77 (1H, s), 7.36 (1H, dd, J ) 2.8, 1.6 Hz), 7.65 (1H, dd, J ) 4.4, 1.6 Hz); IR (KBr, cm-1) 1765 (CO), 1645 (CO); MS m/z 370 (MH+). 2-[2-(4-Bromo-2-fluorobenzyl)-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-1,3dioxopyrrolo[1,2-a]pyrazin-4-yl]carboxylic Acid Ethyl Ester (14e, n ) 0, R ) Et, R1 ) 4-Br-2-F-C6H3-CH2). The title compound was prepared from 2-(2-(trichloroacetyl)pyrrol1-yl)malonic acid diethyl ester (11, n ) 0, R ) Et; 40.0 g, 0.11 mol) by the same manner as compound 15b (n ) 1, RdR1 ) Me) described above. Purification by column chromatography on silica gel with AcOEt-hexane (1/5) and recrystallization from AcOEt-hexane gave a white solid (38.0 g, 86.0%): mp 114-115 °C; 1H NMR (DMSO-d6) δ 1.13 (3H, t, J ) 7.1 Hz), 4.19 (2H, q, J ) 7.1 Hz), 5.00 (2H, s), 6.19 (1H, s), 6.46 (1H, dd, J ) 4.0, 2.7 Hz), 7.07 (1H, dd, J ) 3.9, 1.5 Hz), 7.15 (1H, t, J ) 8.1 Hz), 7.30 (1H, dd, J ) 2.6, 1.6 Hz), 7.37 (1H, dd, J ) 8.2, 2.0 Hz), 7.55 (1H, dd, J ) 9.9, 2.0 Hz); IR (KBr, cm-1) 1730 (CO), 1710 (CO), 1670 (CO); MS m/z 409 (MH+). Anal. (C17H14BrFN2O4) C, H, N. 2-[2-(4-Bromo-2-fluorobenzyl)-4-(ethoxycarbonyl)1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-1,3-dioxopyrrolo[1,2-a]pyrazin-4-yl]acetic Acid tert-Butyl Ester (19t, R1 ) 4-Br-2-F-C6H3-CH2) (Scheme 3, Method A). To a cooled (0 °C) stirred solution of 2-[2-(4-bromo-2-fluorobenzyl)-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-1,3-dioxopyrrolo[1,2-a]pyrazin-4-yl]carboxylic acid ethyl ester (14e, R1 ) 4-Br-2-F-C6H3-CH2; 33.1 g, 80.9 mmol) in dry DMF (150 mL) was slowly added NaH (3.5 g, 87.5 mmol, 60% w/w dispersion in mineral oil), and the mixture was stirred at room temperature for 0.5 h. tert-Butyl bromoacetate (17.1 g, 87.7 mmol) was added dropwise, and the reaction mixture was stirred for a further 2 h. The reaction mixture was poured into ice-water and extracted with AcOEt. The extracts were washed with brine and dried over anhydrous MgSO4. Evaporation and purification by column chromatography on silica gel with AcOEt-hexane (1/8) gave a semisolid (32.0 g, 75.7%): 1H NMR (DMSO-d6) δ 0.96 (3H, t, J ) 7.0 Hz), 1.16 (9H, s), 3.70 (1H, d, J ) 17.4 Hz), 3.82 (1H, d, J ) 17.5 Hz), 4.08 (2H, m), 5.07 (2H, m), 6.48 (1H, dd, J ) 4.0, 2.8 Hz), 7.12 (1H, dd, J ) 3.9, 1.5 Hz), 7.19 (1H, t, J ) 8.1 Hz), 7.37 (1H, dd, J ) 8.2, 1.7 Hz), 7.56 (1H, dd, J ) 7.7, 1.9 Hz), 7.58 (1H, d, J ) 2.0 Hz); IR (NaCl, cm-1) 1760 (CO), 1720 (CO), 1680 (CO).

2-[2-(4-Bromo-2-fluorobenzyl)-4-(ethoxycarbonyl)1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-1,3-dioxopyrrolo[1,2-a]pyrazin-4-yl]acetic Acid (20t, R1 ) 4-Br-2-F-C6H3-CH2). To a stirred solution of 2-[2-(4-bromo-2-fluorobenzyl)-4-(ethoxycarbonyl)1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-1,3-dioxopyrrolo[1,2-a]pyrazin-4-yl]acetic acid tert-butyl ester (19t, R1 ) 4-Br-2-F-C6H3-CH2; 28.7 g, 54.8 mmol) in CH2Cl2 (100 mL) was added trifluoroacetic acid (TFA; 125 g, 1.1 mol), and the mixture was refluxed for 3 h. The reaction mixture was evaporated in vacuo. The resulting crude product was recrystallized from AcOEt-hexane to give a white solid (21.4 g, 83.6%): mp 142-144 °C; 1H NMR (DMSO-d6) δ 0.98 (3H, t, J ) 7.1 Hz), 3.72 (1H, d, J ) 18.0 Hz), 3.86 (1H, d, J ) 18.0 Hz), 4.09 (2H, m), 5.05 (2H, m), 6.46 (1H, dd, J ) 4.0, 2.8 Hz), 7.09 (1H, dd, J ) 4.0, 1.5 Hz), 7.17 (1H, t, J ) 8.1 Hz), 7.33 (1H, dd, J ) 8.2, 2.2 Hz), 7.55 (1H, dd, J ) 8.4, 1.9 Hz), 7.57 (1H, dd, J ) 2.8, 1.5 Hz), 12.97 (1H, s); IR (KBr, cm-1) 1745 (CO), 1700 (CO), 1665 (CO); MS m/z 469 (MH+). Anal. (C19H16BrFN2O6) C, H, N. 2-[2-(4-Bromo-2-fluorobenzyl)-4-(ethoxycarbonyl)1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-1,3-dioxopyrrolo[1,2-a]pyrazin-4-yl]acetamide (21t, R1 ) 4-Br-2-F-C6H3-CH2). To a stirred solution of 2-[2-(4-bromo-2-fluorobenzyl)-4-(ethoxycarbonyl)1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-1,3-dioxopyrrolo[1,2-a]pyrazin-4-yl]acetic acid (20t, R1 ) 4-Br-2-F-C6H3-CH2; 10.0 g, 21.4 mmol) was added dropwise SOCl2 (6.2 g, 52.1 mmol), and the mixture was refluxed for 2 h. The volatiles were evaporated in vacuo, and the residue was dissolved in AcOEt (30 mL). This solution was added dropwise to a mixture of 25% aqueous NH3 solution (29 mL) and AcOEt (30 mL) at 0 °C, and the mixture was stirred for 1 h at 0 °C. The organic layer was separated, washed with brine, dried over anhydrous MgSO4, and evaporated in vacuo. The resulting crude product was recrystallized from CH3CN to give a white solid (8.0 g, 80.0%): mp 190192 °C; 1H NMR (DMSO-d6) δ 0.98 (3H, t, J ) 7.2 Hz), 3.62 (2H, m), 4.09 (2H, m), 5.03 (2H, m), 6.44 (1H, dd, J ) 4.4, 2.4 Hz), 7.04 (1H, dd, J ) 4.0, 1.0 Hz), 7.08 (1H, br s), 7.24 (1H, t, J ) 8.0 Hz), 7.32 (1H, dd, J ) 10.4, 1.6 Hz), 7.36 (1H, dd, J ) 3.0, 2.0 Hz), 7.54 (1H, dd, J ) 10.0, 2.0 Hz), 7.58 (1H, d, J ) 2.0 Hz); IR (KBr, cm-1) 3410 (NH), 1745 (CO), 1705 (CO), 1680 (CO), 1650 (CO); MS m/z 466 (MH+). Anal. (C19H17BrFN3O5) C, H, N. 2-(4-Bromo-2-fluorobenzyl)-1,2,3,4-tetrahydropyrrolo[1,2-a]pyrazine-4-spiro-3′-pyrrolidine-1,2′,3,5′-tetrone (23t, R1 ) 4-Br-2-F-C6H3-CH2, SX-3030). To a stirred solution of 2-[2-(4-bromo-2-fluorobenzyl)-4-(ethoxycarbonyl)-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-1,3-dioxopyrrolo[1,2-a]pyrazin-4-yl]acetamide (21t, R1 ) 4-Br-2-F-C6H3-CH2; 1.6 g, 3.6 mmol) in dry DMF (15 mL) was added NaH (0.3 g, 7.9 mmol, 63% w/w dispersion in mineral oil) portionwise at -20 °C (CH3CN-dry ice). After stirring at -20 °C for 0.3 h, the reaction mixture was poured into ice-water containing concentrated HCl (1 mL) and extracted with AcOEt. The extracts were washed with brine, dried over anhydrous MgSO4, and evaporated in vacuo. Purification by column chromatography on silica gel with AcOEt-hexane (1/3) and recrystallization from AcOEt-hexane gave a white solid (0.6 g, 40.0%): mp 192-193 °C; 1H NMR (DMSO-d6) δ 3.56 (2H, s), 5.00 (2H, m), 6.52 (1H, dd, J ) 4.0, 2.8 Hz), 7.12 (1H, dd, J ) 3.8, 1.4 Hz), 7.14 (1H, t, J ) 8.2 Hz), 7.36 (1H, dd, J ) 8.4, 2.0 Hz), 7.54 (1H, dd, J ) 9.8, 2.0 Hz), 7.72 (1H, dd, J ) 2.6, 1.6 Hz), 12.16 (1H, s); IR (KBr, cm-1) 3230 (NH), 1790 (CO), 1730 (CO), 1705 (CO), 1660 (CO); MS m/z 422 (MH+). Anal. (C17H11BrFN3O4) C, H, N. 2-[(Benzyloxycarbonyl)methyl]-2-(pyrrol-1-yl)malonic Acid Diethyl Ester (24) (Scheme 3, Method B). A stirred suspension of 2-(pyrrol-1-yl)malonic acid diethyl ester10 (8, n ) 0, R ) Et; 36.4 g, 0.16 mol), anhydrous K2CO3 (22.1 g, 0.16 mol), and benzyl bromoacetate (40.3 g, 0.18 mol) in acetone (200 mL) was refluxed for 7 h. After cooling to room temperature, the reaction mixture was filtered off and the filtrate was evaporated in vacuo. The residue was dissolved in AcOEt, washed with brine, and dried over anhydrous MgSO4. Evaporation of the solvent and purification by column chromatography on silica gel with AcOEt-hexane (1/10) gave a viscous oil (53.0 g, 87.9%): 1H NMR (CDCl3) δ 1.24 (6H, t, J

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) 7.1 Hz), 3.52 (2H, s), 4.25 (4H, q, J ) 6.4 Hz), 5.12 (2H, s), 6.18 (2H, t, J ) 2.2 Hz), 6.82 (2H, t, J ) 2.2 Hz), 7.34 (5H, m); IR (NaCl, cm-1) 1740 (CO). To a stirred solution of 2-(pyrrol-1-yl)malonic acid diethyl ester (8, n ) 0, R ) Et; 53.0 g, 0.24 mol) in dry DMF (300 mL) was added NaH (10.0 g, 0.26 mol, 63% w/w dispersion in mineral oil) portionwise at 0 °C. The mixture was stirred at 0 °C for 1 h. Benzyl bromoacetate (70.0 g, 0.31 mol) was added dropwise at 0 °C; the solution was warmed to room temperature and stirred overnight. The reaction mixture was poured into ice-water and extracted with AcOEt. The extracts were washed with brine and dried over anhydrous MgSO4. Evaporation of the solvent gave a viscous brown oil (80.0 g, 91.0%): 1H NMR, IR, and MS were identical to compound 24 described above. 2-(Carboxymethyl)-2-(pyrrol-1-yl)malonic Acid Diethyl Ester (25). To a solution of 2-[(benzyloxycarbonyl)methyl]2-(pyrrol-1-yl)malonic acid diethyl ester (24; 53.0 g, 0.14 mol) in dioxane (300 mL) was added a catalytic amount of palladium carbon (5%, 2.5 g), and the mixture was hydrogenated at 4050 °C under atmospheric pressure. After cooling to room temperature, the catalyst was filtered off and the filtrate was evaporated to give a white solid (36.0 g, 89.6%): mp 93-94 °C; 1H NMR (CDCl3) δ 1.28 (6H, t, J ) 7.1 Hz), 3.52 (2H, s), 4.31 (4H, m), 6.20 (2H, t, J ) 2.3 Hz), 6.84 (2H, t, J ) 2.2 Hz); IR (KBr, cm-1) 1740 (CO), 1720 (CO); MS m/z 284 (MH+). Anal. (C13H17NO6) C, H, N. 2-(Carbamoylmethyl)-2-(pyrrol-1-yl)malonic Acid Diethyl Ester (26). To a solution of 2-(carboxymethyl)-2-(pyrrol1-yl)malonic acid diethyl ester (25; 48.7 g, 0.17 mol) and N-hydroxysuccinimide (21.8 g, 0.19 mol) in dry CH2Cl2 (200 mL) was added WSC (9.5 g, 0.21 mol), and the mixture was stirred at room temperature for 1 h. The mixture was added dropwise to a solution of 7.8% NH3 in CH3CN (130 mL) at 0 °C, and the solution was stirred for a further 1 h at 0 °C. The reaction mixture was poured into ice-water containing concentrated HCl (30 mL) and extracted with AcOEt. The organic extract was washed with brine and dried over anhydrous MgSO4. Evaporation and purification by recrystallization from AcOEt-hexane gave a white solid (46.8 g, 96.5%): mp 94-95 °C; 1H NMR (CDCl3) δ 1.28 (6H, t, J ) 7.0 Hz), 3.37 (2H, s), 4.31 (4H, q, J ) 7.0 Hz), 5.45 (1H, br s), 5.58 (1H, br s), 6.19 (4H, t, J ) 2.2 Hz), 6.86 (4H, t, J ) 2.2 Hz); IR (KBr, cm-1) 3400 (NH), 3210 (NH), 1730 (CO), 1720 (CO), 1680 (CO), 1665 (CO); MS m/z 283 (MH+). Anal. (C13H18N2O5) C, H, N. 3-(Ethoxycarbonyl)-2,5-dioxo-3-(pyrrol-1-yl)pyrrolidine (27). A stirred suspension of 2-(carbamoylmethyl)-2(pyrrol-1-yl)malonic acid diethyl ester (26; 1.0 g, 3.5 mmol) and a catalytic amount of anhydrous K2CO3 (49 mg, 0.35 mmol) in acetone (15 mL) was refluxed for 2 h. After cooling to room temperature, the reaction mixture was filtered off and the filtrate was evaporated in vacuo. The residue was dissolved in AcOEt and washed with cold 5% HCl, water, and brine. The organic layer was dried over anhydrous MgSO4. Evaporation and purification by column chromatography on silica gel with AcOEt-hexane (1/2) gave a viscous oil (0.8 g, 95.2%): 1H NMR (CDCl3) δ 1.27 (3H, t, J ) 3.5 Hz), 3.38 (1H, d, J ) 17.9 Hz), 3.61 (1H, d, J ) 13.0 Hz), 4.30 (4H, q, J ) 7.0 Hz), 6.28 (2H, t, J ) 2.2 Hz), 6.95 (2H, t, J ) 2.2 Hz), 8.57 (1H, s); IR (NaCl, cm-1) 3250 (NH), 1790 (CO), 1755 (CO), 1725 (CO). Anal. (C11H12N2O4) C, H, N. 3-(Ethoxycarbonyl)-2,5-dioxo-3-(2-(trichloroacetyl)pyrrol-1-yl)pyrrolidine‚1/2DMF (28). Trichloroacetyl chloride (42.0 g, 0.23 mol) was added to a solution of 3-(ethoxycarbonyl)-2,5-dioxo-3-(pyrrol-1-yl)pyrrolidine (27; 18.0 g, 76.2 mmol) in CHCl3 (40 mL), and the mixture was refluxed for 16 h. The reaction mixture was evaporated in vacuo. The resulting brown gum was dissolved in AcOEt and washed with 10% aqueous NaHCO3, water, and brine. The organic layer was dried over anhydrous MgSO4 and evaporated in vacuo. The resulting crude product was recrystallized from AcOEthexane containing a theoretical amount of DMF to give a white solid (28.5 g, 89.3%): mp 94-97 °C; 1H NMR (DMSO-d6) δ 1.11 (3H, t, J ) 7.1 Hz), 3.08 (1H, d, J ) 18.2 Hz), 3.70 (1H,

d, J ) 18.2 Hz), 4.17 (2H, m), 6.44 (1H, dd, J ) 4.5, 2.8 Hz), 7.55 (1H, dd, J ) 2.8, 1.5 Hz), 7.68 (1H, dd, J ) 4.4, 1.5 Hz), 12.42 (1H, s); IR (KBr, cm-1) 3150 (NH), 1790 (CO), 1720 (CO), 1660 (CO); MS m/z 381 (MH+). Anal. (C13H11Cl3N2O5‚1/2DMF) C, H, N. 2-(4-Bromo-2-fluorobenzyl)-1,2,3,4-tetrahydropyrrolo[1,2-a]pyrazine-4-spiro-3′-pyrrolidine-1,2′,3,5′-tetrone (23t, R1 ) 4-Br-2-F-C6H3-CH2, SX-3030) (Scheme 3, Method B). To a stirred solution of 4-bromo-2-fluorobenzylamine hydrochloride (10.2 g, 42.4 mmol) and triethylamine (9.0 g, 88.9 mmol) in dry DMF (70 mL) was added 3-(ethoxycarbonyl)-2,5dioxo-3-(2-(trichloroacetyl)pyrrol-1-yl)pyrrolidine‚1/2DMF (28; 14.8 g, 35.4 mmol), and the mixture was stirred at room temperature for 16 h. The reaction mixture was poured into ice-water containing concentrated HCl (10 mL) and extracted with AcOEt. The extracts were washed with brine and dried over anhydrous MgSO4. Evaporation and purification by recrystallization from AcOEt-hexane gave a white solid (6.5 g, 43.6%): mp 192-193 °C; 1H NMR, IR, and MS were identical to compound 23t (R1 ) 4-Br-2-F-C6H3-CH2), prepared according to method A shown in Scheme 3. 3-(4-Bromo-2-(trichloroacetyl)pyrrol-1-yl)-3-(ethoxycarbonyl)-2,5-dioxopyrrolidine (30b, R6 ) H, R7 ) Br) (Scheme 4, Route A). A solution of Br2 (6.9 g, 43.2 mmol) in CHCl3 (18 mL) was added dropwise to a stirred solution of 3-(ethoxycarbonyl)-2,5-dioxo-3-(2-(trichloroacetyl)pyrrol-1-yl)pyrrolidine‚1/2DMF (28; 6.0 g, 14.3 mmol) in CHCl3 (30 mL) at 0 °C, and the mixture was stirred for a further 1 h at 0 °C. The reaction mixture was poured into ice-water (70 mL) and extracted with CHCl3. The extracts were washed with brine, dried over anhydrous MgSO4, and evaporated in vacuo. Purification of the resulting crude product by column chromatography on silica gel with CHCl3-MeOH (2000/1) and recrystallization from AcOEt-hexane gave a white solid (2.4 g, 36.4%): mp 196-198 °C; 1H NMR (CDCl3) δ 1.25 (3H, J ) 6.3 Hz), 1.62 (1H, s), 2.86 (1H, d, J ) 19.2 Hz), 4.24 (1H, d, J ) 19.2 Hz), 4.31 (2H, m), 7.39 (1H, d, J ) 1.4 Hz), 7.70 (1H, d, J ) 1.6 Hz), 8.48 (1H, s); IR (KBr, cm-1) 3180 (NH), 1805 (CO), 1740 (CO), 1710 (CO), 1665 (CO); MS m/z 461 (MH+). Anal. (C13H10BrCl3N2O5) C, H, N. 3-(4-Chloro-2-(trichloroacetyl)pyrrol-1-yl)-3-(ethoxycarbonyl)-2,5-dioxopyrrolidine (30a, R6 ) H, R7 ) Cl). A solution of SO2Cl2 (4.8 g, 35.6 mmol) in CHCl3 (5 mL) was added dropwise to a stirred solution of 3-(ethoxycarbonyl)-2,5dioxo-3-(2-(trichloroacetyl)pyrrol-1-yl)pyrrolidine‚1/2DMF (28; 6.0 g, 14.3 mmol) in CHCl3 (50 mL) at 0 °C, and the mixture was stirred for a further 0.5 h at 0 °C. The reaction mixture was poured into ice-water (50 mL) and extracted with CHCl3. The extracts were washed with brine, dried over anhydrous MgSO4, and evaporated in vacuo. Purification of the crude oil by column chromatography on silica gel with AcOEthexane (1/2) gave a white solid (2.5 g, 41.7%): mp 182-185 °C; 1H NMR (CDCl3) δ 1.25 (3H, t, J ) 5.5 Hz), 1.68 (1H, s), 2.86 (1H, d, J ) 19.0 Hz), 4.22 (1H, d, J ) 19.0 Hz), 4.31 (1H, m), 7.36 (1H, d, J ) 1.6 Hz), 7.62 (1H, d, J ) 2.0 Hz), 8.65 (1H, s); IR (KBr, cm-1) 3180 (NH), 1800 (CO), 1750 (CO), 1710 (CO), 1665 (CO); MS m/z 417 (MH+). Anal. (C13H10Cl4N2O5) C, H, N. 3-(4-Acetyl-2-(trichloroacetyl)pyrrol-1-yl)-3-(ethoxycarbonyl)-2,5-dioxopyrrolidine (30c, R6 ) H, R7 ) Ac). To a stirred suspension of anhydrous aluminum chloride (4.8 g, 36.0 mmol) and 3-(ethoxycarbonyl)-2,5-dioxo-3-(2-(trichloroacetyl)pyrrol-1-yl)pyrrolidine‚1/2DMF(28; 3.0 g, 7.2 mmol) in 1,2-dichloroethane (50 mL) was added acetyl chloride (3.0 g, 38.2 mmol) dropwise at room temperature. After stirring for 2 h, the reaction mixture was poured into ice-water and extracted with CHCl3. The extracts were washed with brine and dried over anhydrous MgSO4. Evaporation and purification by recrystallization from CH3CN gave a white solid (2.5 g, 83.3%): mp 243-246 °C dec; 1H NMR (DMSO-d6) δ 1.12 (3H, t, J ) 7.0 Hz), 2.43 (3H, s), 3.23 (1H, d, J ) 18.2 Hz), 3.68 (1H, d, J ) 18.2 Hz), 4.18 (2H, m), 7.91 (1H, d, J ) 1.8 Hz), 8.13 (1H, d, J ) 1.8 Hz), 12.48 (1H, s); IR (KBr, cm-1)



3140 (NH), 1790 (CO), 1730 (CO), 1680 (CO), 1640 (CO); MS m/z 423 (MH+). Anal. (C15H13Cl3N2O6) C, H, N. 7-Bromo-2-(4-bromo-2-fluorobenzyl)-1,2,3,4-tetrahydropyrrolo[1,2-a]pyrazine-4-spiro-3′-pyrrolidine-1,2′,3,5′tetrone (31b, R6 ) H, R7 ) Br). The title compound was prepared from 3-(4-bromo-2-(trichloroacetyl)pyrrol-1-yl)-3(ethoxycarbonyl)-2,5-dioxopyrrolidine (30b, R6 ) H, R7 ) Br; 2.1 g, 4.6 mmol) by the same manner as SX-3030 (23t, R1 ) 4-Br-2-F-C6H3-CH2) described for method B in Scheme 3. Purification of resulting crude product by column chromatography on silica gel with CHCl3 and recrystallization from CH3CN gave a white solid (1.2 g, 52.2%): mp 112-114 °C; 1H NMR (DMSO-d6) δ 3.55 (2H, s), 4.99 (2H, m), 7.14 (1H, t, J ) 8.2 Hz), 7.22 (1H, d, J ) 1.8 Hz), 7.36 (1H, dd, J ) 8.6, 2.2 Hz), 7.54 (1H, dd, J ) 10.0, 2.2 Hz), 7.96 (1H, d, J ) 1.8 Hz), 12.22 (1H, s); IR (KBr, cm-1) 3220 (NH), 3120 (NH), 1790 (CO), 1720 (CO), 1670 (CO). Anal. (C17H10Br2FN3O4) C, H, N. 2-(4-Bromo-2-fluorobenzyl)-6-chloro-1,2,3,4-tetrahydropyrrolo[1,2-a]pyrazine-4-spiro-3′-pyrrolidine-1,2′,3,5′tetrone (31d, R6 ) Cl, R7 ) H) (Scheme 4, Route B). To a stirred solution of SX-3030 (23t; 0.9 g, 2.1 mmol) in CHCl3 (350 mL) was added SO2Cl2 (0.68 g, 5.0 mmol), and the mixture was stirred at room temperature for 4 h. The reaction mixture was poured into water and extracted with AcOEt. The extracts were washed with brine and dried over anhydrous MgSO4. Evaporation and purification by recrystallization from AcOEthexane gave a white solid (0.56 g, 57.7%): mp 212-215 °C; 1H NMR (DMSO-d ) δ 3.52 (2H, m), 5.01 (2H, m), 6.68 (1H, d, 6 J ) 4.2 Hz), 7.17 (1H, t, J ) 8.2 Hz), 7.23 (1H, d, J ) 4.4 Hz), 7.38 (1H, dd, J ) 8.0, 1.8 Hz), 7.55 (1H, dd, J ) 9.9, 1.8 Hz) 12.56 (1H, s); IR (KBr, cm-1) 3440 (NH), 3200 (NH), 1805 (CO), 1720 (CO), 1675 (CO); MS m/z 456 (MH+). Anal. (C17H10BrClFN3O4) C, H, N. 2-[(Benzyloxycarbonyl)amino]-2-cyanosuccinic Acid Diethyl Ester (33) (Scheme 5). A mixture of 2-[(benzyloxycarbonyl)amino]cyanoacetic acid ethyl ester14 (32; 21.0 g, 80.1 mmol), anhydrous potassium carbonate (12.2 g, 88.3 mmol), ethyl bromoacetate (14.3 g, 85.6 mmol), and acetone (74 mL) was refluxed for 7 h. After cooling to room temperature, the reaction mixture was filtered off and the filtrate was evaporated in vacuo. The residue was dissolved in AcOEt and washed with 5% HCl, water, and brine. The organic layer was dried over anhydrous MgSO4 and evaporated to give a viscous oil (27.5 g, 98.6%): 1H NMR (CDCl3) δ 1.25 (3H, t, J ) 3.7 Hz), 1.34 (3H, t, J ) 6.9 Hz), 3.18 (1H, d, J ) 16.2 Hz), 3.56 (1H, br d, J ) 16.1 Hz), 4.16 (2H, q, J ) 7.1 Hz), 4.38 (2H, br q, J ) 6.6 Hz), 6.31 (1H, s), 5.17 (2H, s), 7.37 (5H, s); IR (NaCl, cm-1) 3340 (NH), 1740 (CO). The crude product was used without further purification in the next step. 3-[(Benzyloxycarbonyl)amino]-3-(ethoxycarbonyl)-2,5dioxopyrrolidine (34). To a stirred solution of sodium carbonate (132.9 g, 1.25 mol) in water (1450 mL) was added 30% hydrogen peroxide (192 mL, 1.88 mol), and a solution of 2-[(benzyloxycarbonyl)amino]cyanosuccinic acid diethyl ester (33; 328 g, 0.94 mol) in acetone (1640 mL) was added dropwise at a temperature below 40 °C. The mixture was stirred for a further 2 h in the range of 25-40 °C. The reaction mixture was then cooled to below 10 °C in an ice bath, and a solution of 7% HCl (1220 mL) was added. The solution was stirred at room temperature until crystals precipitated. The crystals were collected by filtration and washed well with water. Recrystallization from AcOEt-hexane gave a white solid (181.3 g, 60.0%): mp 105-106 °C; 1H NMR (CDCl3) δ 1.29 (3H, t, J ) 7.0 Hz), 3.18 (2H, m), 4.32 (2H, q, J ) 6.9 Hz), 5.12 (2H, m), 6.26 (1H, s), 7.36 (5H, s), 8.19 (1H, s); IR (KBr, cm-1) 1790 (CO), 1755 (CO), 1710 (CO); MS m/z 321 (MH+). Anal. (C15H16N2O6) C, H, N. Optical Resolution of 3-[(Benzyloxycarbonyl)amino]3-(ethoxycarbonyl)-2,5-dioxopyrrolidine (34). (R)-(-)-3[(Benzyloxycarbonyl)amino]-3-(ethoxycarbonyl)-2,5-dioxopyrrolidine (35). To a suspension of 3-[(benzyloxycarbonyl)amino]-3-(ethoxycarbonyl)-2,5-dioxopyrrolidine (34; 73.6 g, 0.23 mol) in EtOH (290 mL) was added cinchonidine (67.6 g, 0.23 mol), and the mixture was heated until dissolution

occurred. The reaction mixture was left standing at room temperature until cinchonidium salt precipitated. The precipitate was collected by filtration and rinsed with EtOH. The crude cinchonidium salt was recrystallized twice from EtOH to give the pure cinchonidium salt (35.2 g, 24.9%, >99.9% de): mp 160-161 °C; [R]26D ) -73.5° (c ) 1.0, EtOH); IR (KBr, cm-1) 1760 (CO), 1710 (CO), 1620 (CO). The pure cinchonidium salt (4.3 g) was suspended in AcOEt (80 mL), and 5% aqueous HCl (40 mL) was added. The organic layer was separated, washed with brine, dried over anhydrous MgSO4, and evaporated to give a white solid. Recrystallization from AcOEt-hexane gave an optically pure (-)-enantiomer (1.9 g, >99.5% ee): mp 117-118 °C; [R]27D ) -31.8° (c ) 1.0, MeOH); 1H NMR, IR, and MS were identical to racemate 34. Anal. (C15H16N2O6) C, H, N. (S)-(+)-3-[(Benzyloxycarbonyl)amino]-3-(ethoxycarbonyl)-2,5-dioxopyrrolidine (36). The mother liquor of the cinchonidium salt as above-mentioned was concentrated in vacuo to give a dark gum (96 g), which was treated with 10% HCl and AcOEt. The organic layer was separated, washed with brine, dried over anhydrous MgSO4, and evaporated in vacuo. The crude solid (43 g, 76.8% ee) was recrystallized three times from AcOEt-hexane to give the pure (+)-enantiomer (>99.4% ee, 21.7 g): mp 119-120 °C; [R]27D ) +29.8° (c ) 1.0, MeOH); 1H NMR, IR, and MS were identical to racemate 34. The optical purity of the enantiomers 35 and 36 was established by HPLC analysis. HPLC conditions: instrument, Shimazu LC-6A system; column, CHIRAL PAK AS (250 × 4.6 mm i.d.; Daicel Chemical Industries, Ltd.); flow rate, 2 mL/ min; mobile phase, EtOH-hexane (10/90); detector, UV 215, 254 nm; column temperature, 40 °C. (R)-(-)-3-Amino-3-(ethoxycarbonyl)-2,5-dioxopyrrolidine (37). To a solution of (-)-3-[(benzyloxycarbonyl)amino]3-(ethoxycarbonyl)-2,5-dioxopyrrolidine (35; 25.0 g, 78.1 mmol) in EtOH (140 mL) was added a catalytic amount of palladium carbon (5%, 1.0 g), and the mixture was hydrogenated at 4050 °C under atmospheric pressure. After cooling to room temperature, the catalyst was filtered off and the filtrate was evaporated in vacuo. The crude product was recrystallized from iPrOH to give a white solid (13.9 g, 95.9%): mp 125126 °C; [R]27D ) -31.8° (c ) 1.0, MeOH); 1H NMR (CDCl3) δ 1.30 (3H, t, J ) 7.1 Hz), 1.64 (1H, br s), 2.20 (1H, br s), 2.76 (1H, d, J ) 18.1 Hz), 3.18 (1H, d, J ) 17.9 Hz), 4.29 (2H, q, J ) 7.1 Hz), 8.31 (1H, br s); IR (KBr, cm-1) 3360 (NH), 3300 (NH), 1755 (CO), 1705 (CO); MS m/z 187 (MH+). Anal. (C7H10N2O4) C, H, N. (R)-(-)-3-(Ethoxycarbonyl)-2,5-dioxo-3-(pyrrol-1-yl)pyrrolidine (39). A mixture of (-)-3-amino-3-(ethoxycarbonyl)-2,5-dioxopyrrolidine (37; 12.0 g, 64.5 mmol), 2,5-dimethoxytetrahydrofuran (13.0 g, 98.4 mmol), and acetic acid (40 mL) was stirred at 70 °C for 1.5 h. The volatiles were removed in vacuo. The residue was dissolved in AcOEt and washed with 5% aqueous NaHCO3, water, and brine. The organic layer was dried over anhydrous MgSO4 and evaporated in vacuo. The crude product was purified by column chromatography on silica gel with AcOEt-hexane (1/3) to give a viscous oil (11.0 g, 72.4%): [R]26D ) -59.5° (c ) 1.0, MeOH); 1H NMR, IR, and MS were identical to racemate 27. Anal. (C11H12N2O4) C, H, N. (R)-(-)-3-(Ethoxycarbonyl)-2,5-dioxo-3-(2-(trichloroacetyl)pyrrol-1-yl)pyrrolidine (41). The title compound was prepared from (-)-3-(ethoxycarbonyl)-2,5-dioxo-3-(pyrrol1-yl)pyrrolidine (39; 7.0 g, 29.6 mmol) by the same manner as compound 28 described for method B in Scheme 3. Purification by column chromatography on silica gel with AcOEthexane (1/3) gave a semisolid (10.4 g, 91.9%): [R]27D ) -426.4° (c ) 1.0, MeOH); 1H NMR, IR, and MS were identical to racemate 28. (R)-(-)-2-(4-Bromo-2-fluorobenzyl)-1,2,3,4-tetrahydropyrrolo[1,2-a]pyrazine-4-spiro-3′-pyrrolidine-1,2′,3,5′-tetrone (43, AS-3201). The title compound was prepared from (-)-3-(ethoxycarbonyl)-2,5-dioxo-3-(2-(trichloroacetyl)pyrrol-1yl)pyrrolidine (41; 2.0 g, 5.2 mmol) by the same manner as

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SX-3030 (23t, R1 ) 4-Br-2-F-C6H3-CH2) described for method B in Scheme 3. Purification by column chromatography on silica gel with CHCl3-MeOH (1000/1) and recrystallization from AcOEt-hexane gave a white solid (0.9 g, 45.0%, >99.4% ee): mp 192-193 °C; [R]28D ) -5.4° (c ) 1.0, MeOH); [R]28405 ) -33.0°(c ) 1.0, MeOH); 1H NMR, IR, and MS were identical to racemate 23t. Anal. (C17H11BrFN3O4) C, H, N. (S)-(+)-2-(4-Bromo-2-fluorobenzyl)-1,2,3,4-tetrahydropyrrolo[1,2-a]pyrazine-4-spiro-3′-pyrrolidine-1,2′,3,5′-tetrone (44, SX-3202). Title compound was prepared from (S)(+)-3-[(benzyloxycarbonyl)amino]-3-(ethoxycarbonyl)-2,5dioxopyrrolidine (36) by the same manner as AS-3201 (43) described above. Purification by column chromatography on silica gel with CHCl3-MeOH (1000/1) and recrystallization from AcOEt-hexane gave a white solid (>99.4% ee): mp 192193 °C; [R]29D ) +6.5° (c ) 1.0, MeOH); [R]28405 ) +33.2° (c ) 1.0, MeOH); 1H NMR, IR, and MS were identical to racemate 23t. Anal. (C17H11BrFN3O4) C, H, N. The optical purity of enantiomers 43 and 44 was established by HPLC analysis. HPLC conditions: instrument, Shimazu LC-6A system; column, ULTRON ES-OVM (150 × 60 mm i.d.; Shinwa Chemical Industries, Ltd.); mobile phase, 20 mM KH2PO4/CH3CN (80/20); flow rate, 1 mL/min; column temperature, 25 °C,; detection, UV 296, 261 nm. Single-Crystal X-ray Analysis. X-ray Structure Determination of AS-3201, 43. Suitable crystals of AS-3201 were grown form ethanol solutions: C17H11O4N3BrF; M ) 420.19; orthorhombic; P212121; a ) 13.207(3) Å; b ) 19.253(3) Å; c ) 6.280(2) Å; V ) 1596.8(6) Å3; Z ) 4; F(calcd) ) 1.748 g cm-1; F(000) ) 840.00; µ(Cu KR) ) 39.04 cm-1; T ) 293 K; crystal size, 0.5 × 0.3 × 0.8 mm. All measurements were made on a Rigaku AFC5R diffractometer with graphite monochromated Cu KR radiation (λ ) 1.541 78 Å). The cell constants and an orientation matrix for data collection were determined from centered angles of 22 reflections in the range 47.83° e 2θ e 50.00°. The data were collected using the ω-2θ scan technique to a maximum 2θ value of 125.2°. Scans of (1.52 + 0.30 tan θ)° were made at a speed of 12.0°/min. Stationary background counts were recorded on each side of the reflections. A total of 1526 reflections was collected. The intensities of three representative reflections were measured after every 100 reflections. No decay correction was applied. The data were corrected for Lorentz and polarization effects. A correction for secondary extinction was applied. The structure was solved by direct methods (SIR92) and expanded using Fourier technique (DIRDIF 94). The non-hydrogen atoms were refined with anisotropic temperature factors. All hydrogen atoms were include at idealized positions but not refined. The final cycle of full-matrix least-squares refinement (SHELXL-93) was based on 1434 observed reflections and 236 variable parameters. All the calculations were performed using the teXsan (Molecular Structure Co.). A refinement of the Flack’s χ parameter was carried out to determine the absolute configuration. The value of refined χ [-0.06(7)] indicated that to be the correct absolute stereochemistry. The final R value was 0.057. The final difference Fourier was essentially featureless. Biological Methods. (a) In Vitro Assay. Enzyme Preparation. Porcine lens AR was prepared according to the method of Hayman and Kinoshita16 with slight modifications. The lenses were homogenized in 250 mM phosphate buffer (pH 7.4) containing 2 mM mercaptoethanol at 0-4 °C, and the homogenate was centrifuged at 20000g for 30 min. The supernatant was subjected to a 40-60% ammonium sulfate fractionation. The resultant precipitate was dissolved in 5 mM phosphate buffer (pH 7.4) containing 2 mM mercaptoethanol and used for enzyme assay. One unit (U) of AR was defined as the enzyme activity which oxidizes 1 µmol of NADPH/min under the assay conditions described below. Enzyme Assay. The reaction mixture consisted of 100 mM phosphate buffer (pH 6.5), 0.2 mM NADPH, 1.5 mM D,Lglyceraldehyde, 0.4 M lithium sulfate, 7.0 mU/mL enzyme, and test compounds at various concentrations. The reaction

mixture was incubated at 37 °C, and the absorbance at 340 nm was measured with a spectrophotometer (model 150-20; Hitachi Ltd., Japan). The enzyme activity was estimated on the basis of its ability to decrease in the absorbance over a period of 1 min. The concentration of compounds required for 50% inhibition of enzyme activity (IC50) was estimated graphically from the log concentration-inhibition curve. (b) In Vivo Assay. Male Wister rats (200-250 g) were rendered diabetic by an intravenous injection of streptozotocin (40 mg/kg), which had been freshly dissolved in physiological saline. After 7 days, the rats were divided into various groups, with 4-6 animals/group, and orally given test compounds, suspended in 0.5% tragacanth or an equivalent volume of 0.5% tragacanth, once a day for 5 days. The rats were sacrificed 4 h after the final administration of the test compounds. Tissue sorbitol level was determined according to the method of Clements et al.17 with slight modifications. The sciatic nerves sample (30-60 mg) were quickly dissected from the hind limb, placed into water (1.0 mL/40 mg of tissue), heated in boiling bath for 2 min, and then homogenized with a Polytron instrument in 6% perchloric acid (1 mL/10 mg of tissue). The homogenate was centrifuged at 1050g for 15 min at 4 °C. The supernatant was neutralized with 2 M K2CO3 and used as tissue extract for assay of sorbitol. Sorbitol was assayed by an enzymatic method, in which sorbitol dehydrogenase catalyzes the stoichiometric conversion of NAD by sorbitol to a fluorogenic product, NADH. The reaction mixture contained 30 mM glycine buffer (pH 9.4), 1.3 mM NAD, 1.3 U/mL sorbitol dehydrogenase, and 1.0 mL of the tissue extract in a total volume of 3 mL. After the mixture was allowed to stand for 60 min at room temperature, the fluorescence intensity was measured at 365-nm excitation wavelength and 430-nm emission wavelength using a fluorospectrophotometer (F3000, Hitachi Ltd., Japan). The sorbitol concentration was quantitated by comparison with standards of sorbitol. The sorbitol content in sciatic nerve of each animal was expressed as nmol/wet weight. The activity of test compounds was expressed as the percent inhibition of sorbitol accumulation at a given dose, which was calculated according to the following equation:

% inhibition ) (S - T)/(S - N) × 100 where S is sorbitol content in sciatic nerve of untreated diabetic control rats, T is sorbitol content in sciatic nerve of diabetic rats given test compounds, and N is sorbitol content in sciatic nerve of age-matched nondiabetic control rats. The dose of compounds required for 50% inhibition of sorbitol accumulation (ED50) was estimated from the log dose-inhibition curve.

Acknowledgment. We thank Dr. T. Karasawa, Dr. T. Sawayama, and Dr. H. Mizuta for encouragement throughout this work and members of the analytical section for elemental analyses and spectral measurements. We also thank Prof. T. Ishida and Ms. Y. In of Osaka University of Pharmaceutical Sciences for measurement of the X-ray structure. Supporting Information Available: X-ray crystallographic data (9 pages). Ordering information is given on any current masthead page.

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JM9802968

Novel, Highly Potent Aldose Reductase Inhibitors: (R) - American

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